Page 77 of Serpent King's Revenge

"Damn," I whispered to myself. The word was a drop in the ocean of what I felt. Ma had been a force alright, one that had reached further than any of us realized.

Tears came, hot and fast. I stood there, staring at nothing, feeling them trail down my face. Abby squeezed my hand so hard it hurt, but it was the kind of pain that kept me grounded.

"Hey," Justin's voice was quiet next to my ear as his hand landed on my shoulder, solid and real. Then Lily, on my other side, her touch gentle.

Alex stepped in close, not saying a word, just being there. We were together, our breathing mixed in the heavy air as we let go for Ma.

We must have stood like that for ages. The world buzzed around us, yet we were in our own bubble of sorrow and silence. Finally, I cleared my throat, wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand, and turned to look at each of them.

"We can't let this slide," I said, my voice rough. "Ma deserves justice. We gotta make things right."

They nodded, faces set in grim lines, understanding what had to be done.

No more words were needed; our mom's memory was calling us to action.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Nathan

Our makeshift memorial was quiet, just a few sobs breaking the silence now and again. We sat huddled together on the floor, kneeling or praying or both, our breaths mingling in the air, heavy with the scent of incense and loss.

Today was about Ma.

And damn, did it hit hard.

"Your mother," Mr. Huang from the corner store said, "she got my boy into college. Never asked for nothing back." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, his voice rough like sandpaper.

I nodded, taking it in. Pieces of her life I never knew, like scattered cards I was finally putting together. Ma had been deep in the Triad's game, but her heart…it seemed to beat for more than just power and control.

Or, maybe that was wrong. She’d wielded her power to help people, while my father used it like a cudgel.

If I one day directed the Serpents like she had…maybe I could actually do some good in this world.

"Hey, Nathan," Lily whispered, her voice pulling me back to the here and now.

I looked up as she stood, her gaze fixed on something behind us. The altar with its candles and flowers blurred as I followed her line of sight. Voices, low and cautious, buzzed from the entrance to the safehouse.

"Get ready," Lily said, placing her hand on my shoulder, her touch light but firm.

I rose to my feet and turned, catching the sight of Xinyi Lin striding through the safehouse with purpose, her son and a couple of the crew at her flanks. My heart kicked into overdrive. Last time we met, it got ugly.

I gave her son a beating, and she caught a stray hand meant for him.

"Damn," I muttered under my breath.

This was not good. Not good at all.

With every step she took closer, memories of that night flashed before me—her son's bloodied face, her shocked expression. My hands were weapons, my anger a trigger, and now I was facing the consequences.

I started walking, each step heavy, loaded with the weight of what I had done. I planned to meet her halfway, look her in the eyes, show her I wasn't afraid. But as the distance closed, something inside me buckled. Power, respect, fear—they all mixed up in my head, and before I knew it, I was close enough to see the fire in her eyes.

"Xinyi—" My voice broke off. No words could fix this. No tough guy act would make things right.

So in a split-second decision that felt like falling backwards off a cliff, I dropped down, my knees hitting the cold floor hard.

"Forgive me," I murmured.

I stayed down, forehead pressed against the cool floor, waiting for something, anything. The room was thick with silence, the kind that weighs on your back like concrete.

Then, from above, Xinyi's voice cut through, steady and sure.

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